By Michael Kitchen, MarketWatch
LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) — Benchmark crude oil ticked back up early Friday after mild losses a day before, as the U.S. dollar eased during a relatively quiet spell for the energy markets.
New York Mercantile Exchange crude oil for February delivery CL2G +0.28% rose 35 cents, or 0.4%, during Asian-hours electronic trade, to sit at $100.74, after settling at $100.39 in the regular Thursday session.
Crude’s gain came as the dollar edged lower, with the dollar index easing to 80.098, down from 80.198 in late North American trading on Thursday. Read more on forex moves.
A weaker dollar tends to support oil and other dollar-denominated commodities, as it makes them less expensive for holders of other currencies.
On Thursday, oil ended with a 0.2% loss, as a greater-than-expected increase in gasoline supplies outweighed a surprise drop in crude stockpiles. See report on Thursday’s crude-oil action.
Price moves were generally modest elsewhere in the energy complex early Friday.
February heating oil HO2G +0.19% held steady at $3.04 a gallon, while February gasoline RB2G +0.27% was also little changed at $2.82 a gallon.
February natural gas NG12G +0.17% added a penny to trade at $2.33 per million British thermal units after tumbling more than 6% Thursday to hit its worst settlement since February 2002.
Michael Kitchen is Asia editor for MarketWatch and is based in Los Angeles.
